Feminist campaigners are calling on the government to ban advertisements for cosmetic surgery, claiming they "ruthlessly prey" on women's body insecurities and "recklessly trivialise" the health risks of invasive procedures.

In a letter published here, women's rights activists join several leading plastic surgeons in warning that the unrestricted advertising of cosmetic surgery by private clinics is having a negative effect on public health.

"At present people have no choice but to be exposed to the aggressive marketing tactics of some cosmetic clinics, whether they be in public spaces, in magazines, on the internet or on TV. So these adverts affect everyone, not just individuals already considering surgery," write the signatories, among them Kat Banyard, director of campaign group UK Feminista; feminist writer Natasha Walter; and Anna van Heeswijk, of the Object group. They say: "Just as rules prevent prescription medicines being advertised in the interests of public health, we urge the government to prohibit the advertising of cosmetic surgery."

Fazel Fatah and Rajiv Grover, president and president-elect of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), whose members perform both NHS reconstruction and cosmetic surgery at top private hospitals, are also included in the list of signatories. In January the organisation called for a ban on adverts for surgery such as tummy tucks and breast enlargement as part of a wholesale review of the industry, which, it warned, had become an under-regulated "wild west". Just as prescription medicines are not allowed to be advertised, it said, surgery should not be publicised either.

Some feminist activists are particularly critical of the role played in the industry by leading women's magazines, who seek to promote "body confidence" while carrying advertisements for procedures from private cosmetic surgery clinics. A survey of four magazines carried out by UK Feminista between January and June last year and released found that Cosmopolitan featured the greatest number of such adverts (32). Marie Claire featured 16, Elle 12, and Vogue 10.

Banyard, whose organisation has launched a campaign against the advertising, said: "Cosmetic surgery adverts are a public health hazard. Their sole purpose is to persuade people to undergo medically unnecessary invasive procedures in order to boost profits. By portraying surgery as quick and easy they recklessly trivialise risks that include post-operative infection, blood clots and, in rare cases, death.

"Cosmetic surgery adverts also ruthlessly prey on women's widespread dissatisfaction, making false promises of confidence and self-esteem. The reality is that people who have undergone cosmetic surgery are more likely to have lower self-esteem than those who haven't, and women who have undergone breast implants are three times more likely to kill themselves than the general population."